As already noted, the tobacco industry has long targeted women with specially designed and packaged cigarettes. Women's brands are typically 'milder' or mentholated, the clean white filters (such as Alpine's), or opulent gold bands (like those of St Moritz) consistent with the carefully constructed images apparent in their advertising.
The importance of the female market is likely to see increased manufacturing of brands designed to appeal to women. Due to women's preferences for lower tar and more mildly flavoured cigarettes, new brands can be expected to provide variations on these themes, perhaps with some other kind of packaging or flavouring gimmickry.
In 1988 Rothmans and Philip Morris both launched low tar, slimmer cigarettes in packs of 20. Vogue and Elle were slimmer cigarettes in smaller packs, no doubt intended to confer aesthetic benefits in a community increasingly aware of the health dangers of smoking. The deliberate use of names associated with women's fashion magazines, and the unavoidable association with top Australian model Elle MacPherson, would also have been intended to enhance brand image. However the brands were not successful, mustering a combined market share of less than 1.5% in 1990.(84) Elle has apparently been withdrawn, no longer appearing in the price lists of the Australian Retail Tobacconist.(85)
Specially scented and flavoured cigarettes have been trialled in overseas markets; for example cigarettes with flavours such as lemon and vanilla were market tested in the United States and Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s.(86,87) Not only does the tobacco deliver the new flavour to the smoker, but it also has scented smoke, and is intended 'to overcome most of the objections non-smokers have about the smell of burning tobacco'.(88) The flavour and packaging was considered more likely to appeal to female smokers.(89) See also Chapter 14, Section 15 for further discussion about product development.